June 30, 2016

INFO @ SARASOTA SISTER CITIES  June 30, 2016   (9)
 All the hot news that’s fit to print at the beginning of a hot Summer………..

 MEET AND GREET, WEDNESDAY, JULY 20
Our Monthly Meet and Greets during the summer of 2016 are held on the third Wednesday of each month at the Sarasota Vineyard Wine Bar and Bistro in downtown Sarasota,  1528 Main Street
5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
sarasotawinebar.com              JOIN US!!!
 MICHAEL PATRICK FEHILY, CD FOR MERIDA, MEXICO, RETURNS WITH RESULTS
What did he do?

1. In 2017, Mérida is “the Cultural Capital of the Americas”  with a huge year-long celebration.  The Mérida mayor has written our Mayor Shaw asking for Sarasota to participate.  Some ideas….Have a performing group from the Circus Conservatory be feature in Mérida.  The head of the Mexican organizing committee is a former ballet dancer.  Possibly a ballet group from Sarasota could participate.
2. Michael also met with Christian Rivero, Director of Cultural Affairs for Mérida, taking the first steps to getting the FST/SCAS Write-A-Play and Embracing Our Differences programs started in Mérida.  He will also work with our CYD Board member, Morgan Bortz, Gabriella Hazan and others to help initiate our Youth Networking Project there.
3. Fellow Sister Cities member, Dr. Jane Rose, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at USFSM, also visited there to review USFSM’s study abroad program there headed by Senor Fehily.
4. On the economic development scene, Miguelito has also been working with a Sarasota manufacturer of automotive tow trucks to have various parts made in Mérida.  He has established an ongoing connection between the two.
5. While Michael was in Mérida, he invited SCAS member Eladio Amores, our local Goodwill Director of Training, to meet with economic development people in Mérida to establish mutual work possibilities.

Michael, with all this going on, did you have time to teach your courses there?!?!  Good job!
 WOULDN’T IT BE GREAT TO HONOR SARASOTA MAYORS WHO HELPED SARASOTA SISTER CITIES OVER THE YEARS?  Stay Tuned!  Things are in the works.
 AN EXHIBITION OF PHOTOS OF  9/11 BOTH IN SARASOTA AND IN OUR SISTER CITIES
          Under the aegis of Gloria Grenier, VP for Arts & Culture, Carolyn Bloomer, VP for Cities and Candidate Cities, and the other CDs, have approved bringing a moving exhibit of photos taken right after 9/11 in New York City by photographer David Gordon.
          We not only want to exhibit these poignant photographs here in Sarasota, we also want to exhibit them in our other Sister Cities.  Plans are underway to make this happen soon.  Date and time to be announced soon.
 MORE INFO ON NEW SISTER CITIES LEADERS
As I mentioned in the last info@sarasotasistercities, we have several NEW CDs and VCDs THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW MORE ABOUT.   In the past I have just announced their appointments.  But maybe you should know what high-quality people are leading our efforts.
 MARLIES GLUCK, MSW, CD for TEL MOND
          Marlies was born in The Netherlands and came to the US as a young girl.  She earner her bachelor’s degree from the City College of New York and her MSW from Fordham University.  For 17 years she worked at Letchworth Village Developmental Center, ending as social work supervisor and treatment team leader.  She is active in the Jewish community here in Sarasota.  Welcome Marlies!
 MARIE DES NEIGES GROSSAS, Ph.D., CD for PERPIGNAN
          Marie des Neiges was educated in France from her undergrad degree through the Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at the Sorbonne.  She has taught French and Spanish in various places.  At the World Bank in Washington, DC, she was program manager for the joint Japan/World Bank Scholarship program.  She spends a good bit of each year in Perpignan.  Welcome, Marie des Neiges!
 HONGYING LIU, Ph.D.,  ACD for XIAMEN
          Hongying was born in Beijing and took her undergraduate degree at Anhui University in Hefei, China.  Her MLS and Ph.D. were earned at Villanova and Temple.
She has been a professor of journalism at Nanjing University and Zhejiang University.  She has authored numerous books and articles.  Her scholarship has centered on various subjects, among them Internet culture, Chinese cartoons, and the interplay between mass communications and Chinese culture.  Welcome, Hongying!

Information on Olga Pliner, Isabelle Eidet, Nelly Camardo, Nancy Tsekou, and Charlotte Hull will appear in the next few issues.
 Address comments and questions to
Dave Harralson, Newsletter Editor
daveharralson@sarasotasistercities.com
941-870-5516